Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Michelle is an industrial/organizational psychologist and human resources professional with over 25 years of practical, hands-on experience in human resources consulting and corporate HR leadership roles.

Most recently, Michelle was Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer and member of the senior leadership team for FRHI Hotels & Resorts, $4B, 45,000 employee, 110+ luxury hotel company including the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel brands operating in 35 countries. She was responsible for all aspects of human resources globally including organizational design & effectiveness, recruiting & selection, talent & learning, compensation and benefits, internal communication, HRMS and employee relations.

Michelle was also EVP and head of human resources for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide with responsibility for all aspects of human resources globally for 100,000 people across 90 countries . She started her career at Starwood as Senior Vice President, Organizational Capability with responsibility for talent management, leadership development, recruiting & selection, learning & development, employee engagement, and organizational effectiveness functions.

Prior to her corporate roles, Michelle was Senior Vice President and Northeast Region Head for Aon Consulting’s Human Resources Consulting Group (formerly HRStrategies). She has also consulted with numerous other hospitality organizations including Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Dolce, Richfield Hospitality, IHG, Cachet Hotel Group, Red Lion Hotels and Denihan Hospitality.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from Brown University and both Master of Arts and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Connecticut in industrial/organizational psychology. She is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and business meetings on HR strategy, leadership development, talent management, selection and assessment, employee engagement, service culture, and HR metrics.